Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was
elected pope just a few days after telling the College of Cardinals that
the Catholic Church faced a clear choice between being a church that
“goes out” or a church focused on its internal affairs.

Five years ago – March 13, 2013 – the
world met Pope Francis for the first time. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of
Buenos Aires was elected the 266th pope less than two weeks after Pope
Benedict XVI’s surprising retirement on Feb. 28 of that year.

Pope Francis used a meeting with thousands of Italian nurses to pay tribute to a nurse he believes saved his life by arguing with his doctors that he needed more aggressive antibiotics to treat a lung infection.

When people are unable to love or accept a child with problems or illness, many times it's because they are too weak themselves to be able to bear someone else's vulnerabilities, Pope Francis told a group of children and young people who are wards of the state.

While it is true that the world is full of sin and sinful behavior, priests must learn to scrutinize the "signs of the times" for new trends and attitudes that are good and healthy and holy, Pope Francis told pastors from the Diocese of Rome.

While being sick can impact a person's whole being, "it in no way impairs or impedes one's relationship with God. In fact, a sick person can be even more united to God," the pope said Feb. 11, commenting on the day's Gospel reading about Jesus healing a leper.

Catholics who have accused top members of the Roman Curia of making overtures to China's communist government without the knowledge of Pope Francis are "fostering confusion and controversy," said the director of the Vatican press office.

Celebrating Mass in a land steeped in indigenous history and culture, Pope Francis said the greatest threat facing humanity is the stifling of differences driven by the idea that some cultures are better than others.